by
Co-Founder of Success Pacific
Many social media and other online marketing platforms have changed their business model from free to pay-to-play. Some companies that were getting a lot traction on places like Facebook are now seeing their numbers drop and are getting fewer interactions.
So, does this all mean that free marketing has become obsolete? We cannot give you a “yes” or “no” answer for that one. Instead, we can provide some solutions for leveraging free platforms in the best and least expensive way possible:
Make Sure Your Profiles Are Up-To-Date
I recently ran across a company that had not checked their Facebook profile in a while. It was filled with older information and it had the wrong website linked to it! Needless to say, the page was ineffective and didn’t get followers to purchase the items it was selling.
The first and easiest thing anyone hoping to improve their online reach must do is go through all of their profiles and make sure their information is completely accurate and up-to-date.
Provide Great Content
No matter where you are building your brand, you want to create fantastic content that your potential customers are excited about reading. This may mean that you need to provide information on things that don’t directly relate to your business. For example, if you are a restaurant with a building in downtown, and there is a marathon going past your storefront, you may want to create a post that wishes the runners luck. Not only will this kind message give readers a mental boost, it will remind them that you are in the community and you care. There are a million ways to supply great content. We know you can find something wonderful to write about, take pictures of, or film.
Be Willing to Share
Social media is all about sharing useful content. If another, complimentary company provides great content, make sure share that with your followers as well. This may feel counter-intuitive at first, but soon you will see the advantages. For example, a veterinary office could share tips from the ASPCA on filling your yard with nontoxic plants. This is both topical and useful information, and the ASPCA doesn’t compete with the veterinary office. Information like this is something that a potential customer may be grateful to read - and may discuss with other pet lovers.
Pay to Play
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter are all working to enforce a “pay-to-play” scenario for businesses. For example, Facebook and Twitter will curate the newsfeed of your potential customer, blocking your content and only showing the person content from people and places they have been heavily engaged in.
This means that, even if you have fantastic content, not many people will see it. It may be worth it for your company to pay to advertise certain posts to your existing audience - or to their friends. In this way you aren’t running a horrendously expensive ad campaign, but instead you are providing a way for your content to be seen by its intended audience.
Hire People Who Know What They Are Doing
There is an idea that all Millennials will understand how to leverage social media for businesses. This is not true. When you are hiring someone to manage your online marketing presence, the fact that they have a Facebook account and are under 40 years old has little relevance on whether they can write effective content and create conversations online. Be sure to put a person in charge of your social media that has experience in and is interested in continuing to learn about marketing and marketing strategies.
These five simple marketing tips will help you build a more effective marketing strategy in the online space. If you aren’t sure where to start or you need to take the next step in your marketing, be sure to contact us today. We provide both marketing and sales consulting.
